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This version of the SL debuted in 2002, and regular updates have kept it feeling fresh. After seven years, though, it’s looking very familiar, even with the aggressively face-lifted nose. And the scoops, spoilers, and fenders that distinguish the AMG model remind us of celebrity faces that have gone under the knife one time too many.

The SL63’s base price of $138,475 is the cheapest way to acquire one of the three available SL models (63, 65, Black Series) from AMG, which is Mercedes’ high-performance tuning office. This least powerful one produces 518 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Like other AMGs, the SL63 resonates with a deep guttural rumble through its exhaust.

This is the only Mercedes with launch control, activated by a NASA-level checklist: stability control in sport mode, brake pedal fully pressed, transmission-selector knob rotated one click clockwise from manual mode, right shift paddle triggered, mash the gas. The revs climb to 4000. Release the brake pedal, and the SL63 takes off with a light chirp of the rear tires. As long as the gas pedal remains floored, redline shifts are automated. The result is a 4.0-second 0-to-60 time and a quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 115 mph. It’s barely slower than the Ferrari—despite the Benz’s better power-to-weight ratio—most likely due to taller gearing. It’s also a lot quicker—60 mph comes 0.4 second sooner—than the last SL63 we tested. Chalk that up to a fully broken-in test car and the optional limited-slip differential.

A stopping distance of 158 feet from 70 mph is seven feet longer than the Ferrari’s, even with the upgraded brakes that come with the $12,500 AMG Performance package. The rest of that extra expense goes toward a 186-mph top-speed governor (up from 155 mph), a limited-slip differential, forged alloy wheels, and sportier tuning for the active suspension. The latter item contributes to the 0.90 g of grip on the skidpad, nearly equal to that of the California.

Looking only at the numbers, you’d be hard pressed to find much of a difference between the SL63 and the California, and the same goes for the transmission. From a driver’s standpoint, both cars offer quick and sharp changes in manual mode. The biggest difference lies in the steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles in the SL63 or the column-mounted flaps in the California. The Mercedes uses planetary gearsets, as in a conventional automatic, and either that or superior programming makes the SL’s transmission better at picking the best gear in full auto mode.

The 465 pound-feet of torque in the Mercedes produces more low-end grunt than in the California, and prodding the gas pedal will push you back into the seat with a force the Ferrari can’t match. The immediacy of the engine shows the SL’s more brutish side; the power comes on so quickly that it can be easy to dial in too much thrust. Brake feedback is also a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation: In normal conditions, the pedal is stiff and progressive, but under hard braking, the pedal throw goes long and the feel vanishes.

On high-speed autobahn chases, the SL63 offers the stability of a cruise missile. By the way the SL63 flings back and forth through lower-speed corners, you would scarcely believe the hefty, 4431-pound curb weight, but there are hints. The steering, nicely weighted, has some on-center play. And the ride is a little too harsh in dealing with bumps. It’s a matter of minutiae in both cases, but the Ferrari is slightly more refined in the details of its tuning.

Regarding conveniences, the SL63 handles details like a first-rate butler. If you want access to the shelf or the storage boxes behind the seats, just press a button, and the seat powers forward out of the way. Another press of the button returns the seat to where it started. That shelf, by the way, is nearly as big as the rear seats in the Ferrari, and this helps compensate for the trunk space the Benz is lacking. Should you need to access the trunk, that operation is powered as well; it even shuffles the folded top out of the way in convertible mode. The seats are heated and cooled, plus they can blow hot air onto the back of your neck on cold days. Most living rooms aren’t this cushy, although the soft seat bottom is a little too La-Z-Boy for our tastes.

The complaints are minor ones. The SL63 remains a very special car that would be high on our list if we had the means to purchase one. It’s just that the Ferrari is a little more special and slightly higher on that imaginary list.